Bhutan Field Report: Group Photograph

Photo © Ugen Dorji-All Rights Reserved
Well, all good things have to have an end and the Bhutan: Land of the Druk Yul photo-expedition came to its end a couple of days ago. Our stay was extended for 24 hours due to heavy rain in Paro which meant that our scheduled Druk Air flight was unable to take off to Bangkok, but we made it out the following day October 8th. I had the foresight to advise the group members to give themselves an additional day in Bangkok as a buffer against such an eventuality.

In my view, the highlight of the trip was a photo shoot during which we documented a traditional exorcist at work in a farmhouse. He was called in to exorcise evil spirits out of a child and a middle-aged woman. In due course, I will post a photo gallery of these photographs. A totally photo journalistic event which led itself extremely well to some of our collective interests and photo styles.

The group photograph above was taken by Ugen Dorji, our guide, fixer and the go-to-man all through our 15 days expedition in Bhutan. Don't be fooled by the serious expression adopted by these photographers...it's only for the camera.

From the left: Graham Ware, Jenny Jozwiak, Kayla Keenan, our wonderful driver Norbu, Kim McClellan, Carlos Amores, Dan Bannister, Nuray Jemil and group leader Tewfic El-Sawy. The photograph was made against the rock painting of Guru Rimpoche on the way to the Tango monastery in Thimpu.

I shall post a complete verdict of the Bhutan: Land of the Druk Yul photo expedition in due course, however I will not disclose the location and details of the exorcism's photo shoot for obvious reasons. Our land travel agent and I worked hard to make this photo shoot happen as it did, and I have no intention of sharing this information with others, especially as we were told that this event was rarely witnessed by non-Bhutanese.